St. Joseph to be included in Eucharistic Prayers

The name of St. Joseph will soon be included in all of the Eucharistic Prayers regularly used in the Latin rite.

The Congregation for Divine Worship has issued a decree calling for the inclusion of St. Joseph in Eucharistic Prayers II, III, and IV. St. Joseph is already mentioned in Eucharistic Prayer I, the Roman Canon, as mandated by Blessed John XXIII.

The decree from the Congregation for Divine Worship, formally dated May 1 (the feast of St. Joseph the Worker), provides the Latin wording for references to St. Joseph, which will follow immediately after mention of the Virgin Mary in the Eucharistic Prayers. The Vatican will soon provide official translations in other languages.

The Vatican decree--signed by Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera and Archbishop Arthur Roche, the prefect and secretary of the Congregation, respectively— notes that after Pope John XXIII added the name of St. Joseph to the Roman Canon, there were petitions from the faithful asking that St. Joseph also be named in the other Eucharistic prayers. These petitions, the decree said, had the support of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis; the latter approved the new mandate.

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